HOMELESSNESS

There's little debate that West Palm Beach - the seat of a county with a significant homeless crisis - has a homeless problem of its own. And it's likely that the problem is affecting business in its struggling downtown in some way.

But let's be honest: Those stores and restaurants have far bigger challenges to building foot traffic in a stagnant business district than shooing away a few panhandlers.

Which begs the question: How will banning charitable groups from feeding the hungry and homeless at two downtown parks do anything to improve downtown business? It won't.

It won't even keep the homeless from going downtown, where all those businesses are.

All it will do will is make it more difficult for big-hearted people to put food in the bellies of those who need it most. And it does nothing to help the city's image. Despite Mayor Lois Frankel's protestations, making it illegal to feed the hungry in a public park makes West Palm Beach look like a callous shrew.

The new ordinance makes about as much sense as Palm Beach County taking the Westgate Tabernacle Church to court over code violations for letting too many homeless people sleep on its floor at night.

When did it become sound public policy to crack down on the few willing to devote their time and resources to helping the least fortunate?

West Palm Beach has taken its vote on the feeding ban, and compassion lost, 3-2. But the city can't so easily wash its hands of the homeless presence, downtown or anywhere else in the city.

Now that it's restricted where the homeless can eat the little food they get, the city's own responsibility in helping resolve the homeless problem camped out on its doorstep is even more pronounced. City leaders have an obligation to find - not just make empty suggestions on - alternative feeding sites that truly work, for both the charities and the city. And they have to do better at working with homeless advocates at eradicating the problem at its root.

If not, the homeless will continue to be a problem, no matter where they eat.